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Of course, there’s much more to the Canadian higher education system than just these two. 26 universities in Canada are ranked among the world’s best in the QS World University Rankings, including 10 in the top 300.

However, it’s McGill and Toronto that consistently stand out as the top two. With both performing at a highly impressive level, your choice is likely to be a more personal one.

To help any lucky prospective students facing this choice, here’s a look at how these two top universities in Canada measure up on key indicators, followed by a more detailed comparison.

QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017

At rankings level, the differences between the two top Canadian universities are tiny – both are clearly among the world’s leading institutions and score well across all of the indicators used to compile the rankings. Both fare particularly well when it comes to international reputation, ranked well within the global top 50 by surveyed academics.

Toronto has the most diversity among its faculty members and a better faculty-student ratio (designed to give a rough idea of how much contact time students can expect), while McGill leads on research citations per faculty member (which aims to assess research impact), and more international diversity among its students.

Subject strengths

In the QS World University Rankings by Subject, Toronto is ahead in each of the five broad subject areas. Interestingly, these rankings also suggest the two top Canadian universities have similar sets of subject strengths: both score highest for arts and humanities as well as life sciences and medicine. The main point of divergence is in engineering and technology, for which Toronto ranks 34th in the world, while McGill trails further behind at joint 63rd.

McGill and Toronto in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017

Location

Choosing between these two universities also means making a choice between their respective cities – Montréal and Toronto. Both are in the south-east of Canada (Toronto’s a little further south) and both are large cities – in fact, they’re largest two in the country.

While Toronto is accepted as Canada’s commercial and financial capital, both cities can make claims to being the country’s leading cultural hub – and both have strong cases to make. As well as vibrant music, film and nightlife scenes, both also boast extremely high levels of international diversity. In fact, Toronto is among the world’s most multicultural cities. According to a 2011 report by the Toronto Foundation, just over half of the city’s residents were born outside of Canada.

Though Toronto may be slightly more diverse overall, Montréal has a more internationally diverse student community (see below). In the QS Best Student Cities index, Montréal is currently ranked first in the world, overtaking Paris and achieving a higher rating than Toronto for both the Affordability and Employer Activity indicators. The latter is based on a survey of graduate employers, domestic and international, to see which cities they prefer to recruit from. Both cities are in the top 10 for Desirability, though Toronto is ahead on this indicator, scoring first while Montreal is ninth.

Both cities also score well in the new Student View category, based on a student survey which asked students to rate their experience of a city in categories such as affordability, friendliness and tolerance and inclusion. For this category, Montreal is ranked joint fourth, with high ratings for its arts and culture, as well as for its friendliness, diversity and affordability, while Toronto is ranked 35th.

One of the main differences between the two cities is language. Toronto is English-speaking, while Montréal, where McGill is located, is in the French-speaking province of Quebec. However, most teaching at McGill is conducted in English, and proof of English proficiency is an application requirement.

It should also be noted that while the University of Toronto’s main campus is right in the heart of the city, it also has two additional campuses, one in Scarborough (a district in the east of the city) and another in Mississauga (a neighboring city to the west).

Student community

As of the autumn 2016 enrolment, McGill had 40,493 students, of which around 10,933 (27%) were international, and about 9,473 (23.3%)were studying at graduate level. Of these, just over 20% of students speak French as their mother tongue.

The University of Toronto is significantly larger, with a total of 86,709 students enrolled in the 2016-17 academic year. Of these, 16,948 (19.5%) were studying at graduate level, and 15,931 (18.3%) were international. That’s a lot of students by any measure – Toronto has one of the largest student communities among institutions featured in the QS World University Rankings.

As well as being split across three campuses (see above), the University of Toronto also makes its huge community more manageable by using a college system, similar to that at Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) in the UK. Applicants to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences choose one of seven colleges, each of which provides a smaller student community within the overall university.

So, if your decision about where to study in Canada can’t be made based on the course that best matches your own academic interests and career plans, lifestyle factors could certainly help tip the balance. Maybe you want to practice your French, or perhaps you like the idea of being part of a smaller college community as well as a member of a very large student body. Or, maybe, you’re just more attracted to either red (McGill's color) or blue (Toronto's)...

Fees & funding

Given their stellar reputations, McGill and Toronto may be forgiven for charging relatively high fees.

At the University of Toronto, tuition fees for undergraduate domestic students range from CA$6,400 to $14,300 depending on the program. For international students, prices are inevitably higher, ranging from around $29,740 to $55,900, again depending on the program chosen.

For graduate-level studies, prices span a broad range, from CA$9,370 to as much as $48,480 depending on the program. The university does state, however, that it is committed to providing financial support for those pursuing research-based graduate programs. Partial funding is also available.

At McGill University, entrance policies are slightly different, with residents of Quebec province receiving discounted fees. Prices also depend on the program. For programs within arts and sciences, residents of Quebec are charged CA$2,328 annually, non-Quebec Canadians pay CA$7,227, and international students pay CA$15,942 (2016-17 figures). At graduate level, all students can enroll on a full-time master’s program for the same price as their undergraduate fees, while international students pay CA$14,310.30 for PhDs.

To take a look at the financial aid available to international students at McGill University, visit the international student funding page. Or, for more information on fees at the University of Toronto, visit this webpage.

This article was originally published in January 2014. It was updated in April 2016 and again in April 2017 to include data from the latest QS World University Rankings® and other sources.

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The former editor of TopUniversities.com, Laura oversees the site's editorial content and student forums. She also edits the QS Top Grad School Guide and contributes to market research reports including How Do Students Use Rankings?

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16 Comments

Trúc L 5 months ago

Hi, I'm a current international student in the US. I'm planning to apply university of Toronto. As far as I researched the information, the admission fee for applying is around 180$. Is that really expensive for applying schools in Canada?

Hello everyone. I was reading through the blogs and found this comment section to be the most prompt at replying. I have a very immediate dilemma and nobody seems to answer it thoroughly. I have received an offer from University of Manitoba for an MBA and an other from University of Ottawa for Engineering Management. My past has been in the engineering domain for 5 years and I wanted to learn the business functions now. So the question here would be whats better in the long , short run? A better university or a better program? I wish to do the course this year as I am already late into the party. It would be really kind if anyone could help me out in this regard. Thanks again.

Hi madam
I am Parvez Alam from India and I am a student of final semester B tech specialisation in Chemical Engineering.
I am interesting in pursuing my master programme in Chemical Engineering/ Petroleum Engineering.
How may I get admission and Scholarship in this university?

Hi Parvez, links to the financial aid pages of the University of Toronto and McGill can be found in the article above, and we have a list of more scholarships to study in Canada here. You can find full details on how to apply for Toronto or McGill on their official websites, but lots of general information is available here. Hope this helps!

Madam, I'm Joseph,35, from Ghana, west Africa and I'm holding a diploma in commerce with a grade of pass. Please may I know if I will be allowed to do a course in bsc or BA. MOREOVER,I have 7 years work experience.